Effects of heating temperature on the tocopherol contents of chemically and physically refined rice bran oil

Abstract

The stability of α-, (β+γ)- and δ-tocopherols present in rice bran oil at different heating temperatures has been evaluated. For this purpose, samples of rice bran oil from chemical and physical refining processes in Brazilian industries were studied. The oils were submitted to cabinet drying without air circulation in the absence of light at 100 ºC, 140 ºC and 180 ºC. The samples were taken before heating and after 48, 144, 240, 336, 432, 576, 768, 1008 and 1368h of heating. The analyses of tocopherols were made by high performance liquid chromatography, with a fluorescence detector. It was determined that α-tocopherol was the compound with the fastest degradation rate at the three heating temperatures. The highest degradation rate of tocopherols in both oils occurred at 180 ºC. Among the tocopherols studied, α-tocopherol presented the lowest stability, followed by (β+γ)- and δ-tocopherols.